Iɴ Tʜᴇ Eɴᴅ Iᴛs Hɪᴍ & I | Mɪʟᴇᴠᴇɴ Oɴᴇsʜᴏᴛs (Sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ Tʜɪɴɢs)

A Year Without Her

Age 14/15 (El knows how to read pretty well in this chapter)

Mike was at school while El was at the Wheeler's house, bored. She had already watched multiple soap operas while sitting on the recliner and had eaten 2 boxs of eggos "accidently".

After wandering around the house for an hour, she ended up in her boyfriend's room. El looked around his room, which seemed pretty boring and regular... until she sat down on his desk chair.

Across the room, between his bed and nightstand, she could see a shoe box slipped in between the gap. Confused, she went over to his bed and stuck her hand between the gap and pulled out the box.

She carefully opened the lid to see a grey book covered in doodles and pencil lines. Mike's name was written across the cover along with the word Private scrawled across the bottom of the grey cover.

She began flipping through pages, briefly looking at the pencil covered pages before stopping at a page that she saw her name on.

I can't take it anymore. Not having El in my life is killing me. I miss her so much. The day she left is when I realized that I loved her. And now that she's gone... it's breaking me. I keep calling her on the supercom every night, hoping that she's out there, but even hearing her name or any mention of her makes me want to cry or break down.

I only knew her for a little while, but to me it felt like a lifetime. I sometimes cry myself to sleep at night, regretting not saving her. I have dreams about her coming back, but when I wake up, I can't handle the truth that El is really gone... Everyone's moving forward, but I can't. I miss her so god damn much. I will keep calling her until I get some kind of sign that she's out there still. Today is day 283. I just have to hope for the best...

Without realizing it,El had tears running down her cheeks. She had never known how hurt Mike had been. He had always told her how much he had missed her, but never knew he had been hiding the heartache and pain he felt during the 353 days she was gone.

She sat down on the dark carpet and flipped through the rest of the pages. Page after page were filled with her name and his feelings and pain. Sobs racked at her chest and she read his words.

El could remember the pain in his voice when he would call her every night. Many nights Mike would end up bursting into tears as he called her from the blanket fort. She would sit there next to him in the fort, desperatly wishing to comfort him and tell him she was there, but she was only a ghost that he couldn't see or hear.

"El! I'm home!" Mike's voice shouted from downstairs. El quickly wiped away her tears and shoved the book and box back into its spot. She ran downstairs to greet her boyfriend.

"Hi Mike." El said and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too El." He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked at her. "Were you crying?" He ran his thumb across her cheekbone.

"I was watching a sad show." El lied, surprising herself. "I was crying from that."

Mike hesitated, them nodded. "The rest of the party is coming here, by the way. Wanna go into the basement and wait for them?"

El nodded and took his hand and walked into the basement with him. She sat down on the couch and pulled him down with her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. El closed her eyes, but all she could think about was the book filled with Mike's writing. Tears welled in her eyes as she buried her face in his chest, trying to ignore the stab of guilt that had struck her.

"Hey guys..." Dustin said as he and the party walked downstairs to see the couple on the couch. The rest of the party greeted them.

"Hi." El said quietly, flashing a warm smile at Will. They had grown close over the last year and they were almost as close as siblings. Will had taught El how to read, write and draw.

The phone began to ring and Mike sighed as he got up. He pressed and kiss against El's cheek before going upstairs.

"I need to ask you guys something." El said suddenly, getting the party's attention. She looked down nervously, hesitating whether to ask or not.

"You can ask us anything, El." Will said, sitting next to her and placing and hand on her shoulder.

Taking a deep breathe, she asked, "W-when I was gone... how upset was Mike, really? He told me he missed me but... I found a book, with really sad writing i-i it about me and how upset he was w-when I was gone..."

Everyone went silent and tears welled up in her eyes. "Don't cry El..." Will said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He treated that girl like his sister.

"He stopped talking, like, to everyone. He wasn't the same..." Dustin said quietly, thinking back the the days El was gone. "Mike cried about you a lot... He basically shut down..."

"Yeah... Dustin's right..." Lucas said. "I can't believe I just said that. But anyways, Mike always said that you were out there. He always had hope. And he always got mad or upset if someone said you were dead or if someone mentioned you."

"I think Mike always loved you, El. After I got out of the hospital, I remember... I remember how different he was. He always tried to hide his pain, but little things made him upset or mad. From what Dustin told me, after you disappeared, Mike literally shut almost everyone out. His one goal was to find you..." Will finished.

El nodded and looked down at her feet. She had never known how horribly her disappearance had affected Mike. "I-I wish I had k-known that sooner..." She whispered.

Little did they know, Mike had been standing at the top of the stairs, listening. A few tears ran down his cheeks as the memories of his pain flashed through his head. Mike didn't want El to know how much pain he had felt or how sad and angry he had been. He didnt want her to be upset or feel guilty for being gone so long. He wished his friends hadn't told her the truth, he wanted to always be strong for her when she couldn't be.

"Guys?" Mike said quietly as he walked down a few steps. He hadn't bothered to wipe away his tears.

"Um, we'll leave you guys alone..." Dustin said. It was clear to him that Mike had heard their conversation.

The rest of the party went upstairs as Mike walked into the basement. "Mike..." El whispered as she rested her hand against his tear stained cheek. "You never told me..." A sad look crossed her face.

"I-I didn't want you to feel bad E-El..." Mike's voice was barley audible. "You were going through a lot and I didn't want to add any p-pressure or guilt onto you... I missed you to death El... I'm... I'm..." Tears welled in his eyes again and she pulled him close and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Im right here Mike. I'm right h-here." She said, tearing up a bit. "I'm sorry I put you through that much pain." Guilt had stabbed her in the heart.

"It's not your f-fault, El... Just don't leave m-me again, p-please?" Mike looked into her soft, brown eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere, Mike. I p-promise."

They both had tears in their eyes, but smiles on their lips. Mike hugged her tightly, taking in every detail about her. Her scent, her warmth, her eyes and most importantly, her love; it was all Mike needed.

"I l-love you El."

El smiled warmly and kissed his cheek. "I love you too."

Mike's wish had come true; El was finally back home, and she was there to stay. He want going to lose her, never again.